Watermark Books and Cafe

Okay, you’ve survived Valentine’s Day – alone, as usual. Having endured the overblown Lupercalian festivities reserved for lovers, your mother’s demands for grandchildren, and appropriate shunning by the media (singles on V-Day? Ignore them!), you’ve had enough. You may be single, but you feel complete, happy, and would rather spend the empty hours cuddled up with a book and furry critter than fret over not having a "significant other" right now.

If the above describes you to a "T"... well, hopefully you’re not a "T." But you might be a Quirkyalone.

Sasha Cagen, an established voice in the blogging realm, has crafted a philosophy for those who are tired of receiving pitying looks when identifying themselves as "single," tired of lurking in dark corners at parties, tired of being castigated for desiring time away from a partner. According to Cagen, a Quirkyalone has "the ability to enjoy one’s aloneness, whether one is single or not." But far from hating the idea of having a partner, the QA is a Romantic at heart—if the "right one" comes along (usually another QA), they would gladly join up and become "Quirkytogether." Cagen describes the QA as a "militant Romantic," and I think Oscar Wilde would approve of the sobriquet.Be warned, budding Quirkyalone, of potential enemies: it’s not just your mother who wants you to marry and have babies. Those who stand opposite from the Quirkyalones/togethers are the "Perkytogethers." The Perkytogether is difficult to identify until you engage one in conversation—it pities your solitude, never mind if it’s self-imposed, and would gladly try to set you up with a date, never mind that you would rather take *yourself* out to the movies!

Cagen’s book is full of advice and anecdotes from fellow Quirkyalones, including how to celebrate February 14th (International QA Day!). As for myself? While St. Valentine was fondly remembered, I shuffled off my own martyrdom and celebrated V-Day with a bouquet of daisies, the official QA flower, a collection of stories by Collette, and myself.

Review by Cat Connolly =^..^=